1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to knife and saw holders, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved knife and saw holder having a disk slidably retained in a tapered groove in a base plate. The knife and saw holder utilizes the force of gravity to retain knives and saws securely in position. When utilizing knives and saws, it is important to store these instruments in a neat and orderly way. This facilitates the location of these items, and further maintains the quality of their cutting edges. Also, it is important to store these instruments in a safe manner, so as to protect young children from these items.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of knife and saw holders are known in the prior art. A typical example of such a knife and saw holder is found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,188,791, which issued to C. Knechtel on June 27, 1916. This patent discloses a rack which utilizes hinged slotted plates to mount a plurality of saws for display purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 1,661,121, which issued to G. Huson on Feb. 28, 1928, discloses a tool chest having a slotted holder designed to carry a plurality of saws with the blades extending in a horizontal position. The saws are inserted between two spaced slotted elements with their handles extending in alternating directions. The saws are vertically stacked one above the other. U.S. Pat. No. 1,888,289, which issued to F. Raffles on Nov. 22, 1932, discloses a holster like holder for a saw. A pair of felt pads positioned adjacent the opening of the holster are designed to provide a protective coating of grease or other substance to the sides of the saw blade during each insertion or removal of the blade from the holster. U.S. Pat. No. 2,495,866, which issued to A. Perry et al on Jan. 31, 1950, discloses a knife holder which has a plurality of vertically extending slanted slots for the reception and retention of knife blades. U.S. Pat. No. 2,754,008, which issued to P. Culver on July 10, 1956, discloses a knife rack having a plurality of horizontally spaced slots for the reception of the blades of knives. U.S. Pat. No. 3,677,400, which issued to J. Spier on July 18, 1972, discloses a storage unit for flatware which has a slotted central portion for supporting a plurality of knives in upright position. U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,608, which issued to E. Faltersack on Sept. 14, 1976, discloses a holder for knives which utilizes a housing having contained therein a plurality of resilient stacked "U" shaped members. In use, a knife is inserted between the sidewalls of two adjacent "U" shaped members, and is retained by the weight of the "U" shaped members. U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,991, which issued to H. Swanson on Dec. 27, 1977, discloses a paint brush rack for displaying paint brushes on a pegboard supporting surface. The rack has a plurality of support struts which extend at a forty five degree angle to the vertical pegboard surface. These struts are provided with horizontally extending flanges for forming a shelf for a paint brush. U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,499, which issued to S. Joswig on Jan. 16, 1979, discloses a holder for a plurality of tool handles of various diameters. A horizontally extending base has a plurality of angled grooves formed therein. A slide element secured by a projecting flanged element in a "T" groove provided in a sidewall of each slanted groove in the base plate slides on an incline under the action of gravity. When a handle is inserted upwardly between the slide elements and a sidewall of the groove and released, the weight of the slide elements wedges the tool shaft between the slide elements and the sidewall groove. U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,629, which issued to E. Friis on Dec. 15, 1981, discloses a drawer organizer for cutlery. The organizer provides a plurality of horizontally spaced slots for the reception of various cutlery items.
While the above mentioned devices are suited for their intended usage, none of these devices provides a holder for saws and knives which safely mounts these instruments in a vertically extending condition while at the same time allowing easy removal. Further, none of the above patents disclose a device which utilizes a disk freely slidable under the weight of gravity, to retain a knife or saw in position. Inasmuch as the art is relatively crowded with respect to these various types of knife and saw holders, it can be appreciated that there is a continuing need for and interest in improvements to such knife and saw holders, and in this respect, the present invention addresses this need and interest.